5K Run and Great Friends

• This morning, Collin and I ran in a family 5K run to help raise money for a friend of ours and their little boy.  He was born on Sept 1, 2010 and was quickly diagnosed with Acampomelic Campomelic Dysplasia which is a type of Skeletal Dysplasia that is very rare.  It means he will be little all of his life.  Collin and I were running buddies and ran the 5K in 29 min/28 sec.  I am happy with that time because the winds were close to 20 mph at times.  In a jog stroller, that's tough when the wind is trying to push you off the road.  Also, Collin wanted to stop and get some lemonade that he saw everyone else stopping to get.  This was really yellow Gatorade which he did not like.  Other comments he made while we were running:

• "Why is he walking?"
• "There goes another stroller Mommy".  Was he being competitive and telling me that the stroller was beating us?  It did help me run a little faster.
• "Go faster Mommy".  I was going as fast as I could while talking to him and keeping the stroller on the road
• "Why are they running that way?"  The first group of runners had already made it to the turnaround point and were headed back.....meaning they were MUCH faster than us. 
• "Mommy, see the dog?"
• "I need a drink"

Notice the scrap on his leg.  This was a pre-run injury he got while running to the swing set area.  He did not quite make it over the wall.

After the run, all of the kids played on the playground equipment after eating the snacks they had for us.  Collin must have been hungry from all of that work because he ate 2 slices of watermelon and 1/2 a bagel.  Besides the wind, the weather made it a great morning to hang out a little longer outside, visit with old friends and make new ones.  We are blessed with t he amount of friends we do have.

After the run and awards, it was time to celebrate Sophie's 3rd birthday.  We did not stay too long because we were hungry and Daddy had to get back and work at the bike shop for a few hours.  Collin and I hope to take a needed nap.....at least I want to take one and hope he is interested too.

Gymnastics = Fun and Tae Kwon Do = No

It's hard to tell if Collin likes Tae Kwon Do or not.  Do you think when he tells you "Tell Daddy to not pay for Tae Kwon Do anymore" that it's because he does not like it?  Or....that he does not participate in the class until the sensei gets there because he is not interested?  We paid for the month, so he will be going at least that long.

On the other hand, Collin is REALLY enjoying his gymnastics class.  I finally got to see him in class this past Wednesday.  We got there a little early so he was able to see the other students with the instructors.  He wanted to watch them tumble or do what they were doing instead of playing with the little boy that was standing next to tim and in his class.  Once class was ready to start, so was Collin.  He did great listening to the teachers and participating where they wanted him too.  He has a little trouble with the obstacle course when he had to tumble after jumping up on a soft platform.  The teacher had to help him do this every time.  He would look over at me a few times as if to "check in" and make sure I was watching.  Here he is on the balance beams having to move sideways and then walk backwards.  As you can see, he does need to work on his balance.

"I'm Frustrated"

Collin learned what it meant to feel frustrated from me this week. Daddy was out of town and I have started my tax busy season which means my hours have started to ramp up a bit.  Mimi could not help much because she had to keep Timmy so Aunt Lisa could get her rest.  There was one day this past week that was TERRIBLE for me because every electronic I touched was not working properly or had died.  This was especially bad timing because I needed to electronically send some tax returns to a client.  Collin could tell that I was not in a good mood.  I kept telling him that I was not mad at him but was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  He then said "like the boy in my book?"  If you don't know that book, here is a picture of it. 

In the book, Alexander had a really bad day.  Everything he touched or did turned out not in his favor.  That was the kind of day I was having.  I told Collin that I was just frustrated that the computer was not working.  He told me that he was frustrated too.  This helped make me laugh a little.....but the electronics did not work so I continued to be frustrated.  

The next day, I was not listening to him when he wanted me to.  He told me "Mommy, I am frustrated."  I asked him why and he told me "because you are not listening to me when I talk to you".....so I listened and then he told me "I am not frustrated with you anymore Mommy.  Are you having a good day?"  I love my caring little guy.  Yes, I was having a MUCH better day and very happy that I had this little guy in my life.

Baby Leah is FINALLY here!!!

Collin is a cousin again.  Baby Leah Rose was born this morning.  She weighs 7lbs 6oz and is 18 1/2 inches long.  That is very close to Collin's stats at 7lbs 2.8 oz and 19 inches long.

We are all very excited because Leah is the first girl cousin.  We are so used to our boys.  I guess we will need to learn what to do with a little girl.  We could not wait to see her this morning and got there as fast as we could.  She would not wake up to eat the entire time we were there.  She did, however, have no problems dirtying a few diapers.  I got to change the first few.  Aww...

Well, here she is.....

Montessori Adventures - Annual School Party

Friday, school closed early so they could get ready for the annual party which started at 6pm.  Collin and I had two hours to play outside, snack, rest or whatever we wanted to do before we needed to go back to school for the "birthday" party (this is what Collin kept calling the party).  We played outside a little bit with the neighbors before they had to go.  Then, Collin dug in the front yard and was making me a birthday cake (hmmmm.....I wonder where he got the idea of a birthday cake?  hahaha).  I came to see what the cake looked like and he had built a pile of dirt on the walkway.  This was my cake.  :)

He wanted to go to the park before the party.  I knew we would be late to the party if we did that but it was such a beautiful day outside.  Collin had fun sliding and climbing on the playground equipment.  He even met a friend named Kendall.  They played on the swings until we really needed to go because it was getting dark.  We still had an hour of the party left so we headed that way.

At school, each of the classrooms were decorated in a theme and had a certain activity in the room. Collin said his favorite was throwing the balls into the hoops. He did GREAT at this. I did notice that a few of the Dad's there were commenting about how accurate he was and using his left hand. We were there for about an hour and left only when they were closing. He had a blast.

Fishing for turtles and fish

Face painting before the emergency potty break.  He said the cold paint made him have to pee.

Notice he is much happier now that he went to the bathroom.

Showing off his art he calls "Boat"

I asked to see the other side of the art because I knew he put some pieces on that side.  Here is what the smarty pants did.  The parents behind me were dying laughing.



Picasso Collin



Happy Breakfast

These pictures really say it all.  Collin was in such a GREAT mood this morning.....AND this was without the TV on watching his 'toons in the morning.  He and I were eating breakfast together (that is my bagel he stole and ate the rest of after eating seven small powdered donuts).  Chi Chi Wawa was watching Collin eat and Collin decided that he needed to give the dog a powdered sugar kiss....and that's when the laughter started.  This went on for at least 10 minutes.  I hated to stop it but we had to get going to school.

"Give this to Timmy"

Collin knows that Timmy does get his clothes when he outgrows them. Early on, Collin would help me gather the clothes and then put them in a box or bag to give Aunt Lisa. I would tell him that these where for Timmy especially if he was having a hard time lettin go of an article of clothing.

If Collin does not like something he is playing with because he is getting bored with it, he will tell me to "give this to Timmy". If Mimi brings something over thathe is not interested in, then, yep, we are told that "you can give this to Timmy".

I guess soon his reply might change to "give this to the baby" or "give this to Leah". She should be arriving any day now. We are all trying to patiently wait on her.

Drama King - Today's Example

This morning after Collin finished breakfast of waffles (yummy!), he was walking into the kitchen to tell me he wanted some milk.  He was not paying attention where he was walking and hit the side of his head on the counter top that sticks out.  He started to cry (as expected).  I talked to him and asked him where it hurt.  I did give him a kiss and he said it was better.  He then started to rub his eyes and said they still hurt because they were bleeding.  They might have been watering but they were not bleeding.  He started to cry more because he thought his eyes were bleeding. 

Then, he walks back to his chair to get his guys (this morning they were Monkey and Minnie Mouse).  He looked down at the puzzle on the floor that he did not pick up from the night before, turned and then hit the back of his head on the side of the chair.  This started the drama all over again.

I can tell it will be a fun morning getting him dressed now and ready for school.

Drama King?

If there is such a thing as a Drama King, Collin is a good example of one.  Some examples are:

• He still screams and cries when we wash his hair.  The neighbors probably think we are hurting him.  Thanks goodness we have new, double-paned windows installed.  :)
• When I start to read him books or am in the process of picking them out, if he does not like the selection or wants to add more than I want to read, he typically starts to pout and say "You never read books to me".  Huh, were are you when I am reading the books every night?
• The "You never....." can apply to anything he is currently bargining with us to do but we won't let him for one reason or another.  He is so deprived.  I do feel sorry for him.
• When he is exhausted, he is on edge so EVERYTHING makes him cry.  It does not help when I am tired too.....and want to cry......can you tell that the tax busy season has started?
• After coughing from crying so hard, he announces, "I need medicine".  He does not like the answer that he does not need it and that starts the announcement and crying again.

"I Want Donuts"

After Collin had 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast, he announced he was still hungry. I thought he might be a little hungry since he can usually eat at least 3 eggs at a time. I wanted to finish eating another bite or two of my homemade breakfast sandwich before I got up to see what else he would be interested in eating. Apparently, I took a little too long for him because this is what I saw when I stepped into the kitchen (glad I had just put my iPhone on me so I could catch him in the act):

He ended up eating at least 6 small white powdered donuts......once I got him off the counter.  There might have been more but this is what I saw (he was eating them as fast as he could take them out of the bag). 

I was surprised later for lunch that he continued to shock me by eating an entire small cheese pizza at CPK.  He generally has at least one good meal a day but not two.  It did not stop there.  He ate 5 chicken nuggets and some beans.  It was a fight to get him to eat the beans until Daddy told him that they would make him fart if he at them.  That did it.  He ate 2 - 3 bites of the beans.....and did fart about 5 minutes later.  He was so proud of himself.

Collin and his Backpack

Ever since Collin got his backpack for Christmas, he LOVES being able to put stuff in it and bring it with him when we leave the house.  Yesterday was a great example.  In the morning, I went to the gym to swim and run.  Collin went with me because Daddy was working.  I told Collin that we were leaving for an hour or so.  He asked "Can I bring my backpack?".  I know this meant can he put some toys or books in his backpack and bring it with us.  He put 5 little cars and two Cat-in-the-hat books in the backpack, put his backpack on by himself and waited by the door for me. 

When we arrived at the gym, he got out of the car, carried his backpack out with him and then put it on his back before we started walking to the gym.  He did want to walk backwards all the way there.  Kids are so funny.  He walked right to the room to see his "friends" and did not have a problem with me leaving.  I came back after swimming 375 meters and running 2.5 miles.  He was happily sitting on the floor playing with one of his cars and watching Finding Nemo.  He saw me, got up and put his toys away in his backpack. 

We met Daddy for lunch and then headed to see Saige and Linden.  We met at a local specialty store to hear a live band play.  The girls were up dancing but Collin was not interested in joining them.  We all loved listening to the music, relaxing and visiting with friends.  We were there for about 2 hours before we left.  We were hoping Collin took a nap on the way home and then when we got home.  He did not.

Mommy and Daddy went out with new friends while Collin stayed home with Christina.  He knows her from the bike shop.  I had told him that morning that she was coming over.  Throughout the day, he would ask "What's that girls name again?" referring to Christina.  When she did come over and it was time for us to leave, Collin did great!  He did not cry or look sad when we left.  When we came back home, she said he did a great job.  He listened to her throughout the entire bedtime process and was in bed by 9pm.  Christina can definitely come over again and watch him.

Superman in the Morning

Most of the time if Collin wakes up while I am still getting ready for work in the morning, he will knock on the bathroom door to tell me to turn the lights off.  Well, I cannot do that so he decides to crawl in my bed or run to the closet near the bathroom because those lights are off. 

This morning, he brought me one of his super hero capes for me to put on him.  He was still in his PJs so I tried to explain that Superman needs to sleep too.  He didn't care and was wide awake at this point so I put the cape on him.  I had to pin this one on because the Velcro does not work anymore (these were cousin Dustin's capes when he was about the same age).  Collin ran to the big mirror in the bathroom to check the cape out in the mirror.  He was turning one direction and then the other when he stopped and asked "how is this sticking to my PJs"?  I told him that I used the pins.  He saw the pins and asked if they would hurt him.  I told him no if he did not touch them.  He asked for me to take the cape off because "I don't want to get blood on my PJs" and then he left the room. He came back quickly with a Batman cap that did not require pins to be used and wanted to wear that one. 

As I was walking down the hall to leave for the morning, I passed Collin in the playroom.  He turned the lights on by himself (in the last week, he has not needed his stool) and was quietly playing in there.  I bet Daddy was enjoying this instead of his usual morning request from Collin of "get me some dinner Daddy". 

Collin has a White Belt

Yes, we did sign Collin up for Tae Kwon Do.  He is no longer just observing but is taking lessons.  We decided to sign him up for the next month and attend as much as we can. Sensei Julio said that Collin is very observant and thinks he will do really well.  He can tell that Collin is watching the bigger kids and will catch on quick.  Let's see how well he does.

"Don't Give Me a Wet One!"

This is the reaction we get from Collin when we go to give him a kiss.  I hear this mainly at night when I am telling him good night and then lean in to give him a kiss.  Sometimes, he will tell me "you can give me one later" if he does not tell me to not give him a wet one.  At least he does like kisses.  His cousin, Timmy, does not even let us hold him .... so forget about giving him a kiss.

As you can imagine, I was shocked, and took advantage, of him telling me "you can give me a wet one right here" (pointing to his forehead) when I went to give him a kiss while he was eating his breakfast.  Maybe he was being generous because I had just given him 5 small, powdered donuts to eat.  Hey, he caught me in a great mood this morning.

Baby Shower for Collin's newest cousin, Leah

I think Collin had more fun than I did at Aunt Lisa's baby shower this afternoon. I like baby showers OK but it's really not my thing. When we arrived, he was expecting Timmy to be there and he was not. I could tell that Collin was disappointed. I am glad we brought his backpack with a few of his toys to play with. He played for just a few minutes and then clung to me and was really shy. Then, another 3 year old little girl, Sienna, arrived and he was within inches of her the rest of the time we were there. Kyler was there too which is Lisa's niece-in-law (I guess that's what she is to her). When it came time for Lisa to open presents, Collin and Kyler were right there to help out. Collin saw that Lisa was holding up all of the clothes for the other people to see so he started to do the same to the ones he really liked. He found monkey jammies as was sure he held that one up so at least I could see it. He had one similar to that when he was younger and remembered it.

After presents,  we had cupcakes.  Collin said he wanted one but does not usually eat but two or three bites.  I was shocked that he did eat the entire thing.  Instead of eating it with his hands, he wanted a fork so he could cut it in pieces first.  Timmy was next to him diving into his cupcake and not using his hands at all.  I was too funny to watch the different cup cake eating methods by these toddlers.

After he finished, Collin told Lisa's father-in-law, Mark, about our trip to the zoo yesterday. He told him about the monkeys and the seals.  I guess he DID have a good time if he remember it the next day enough to tell someone he is not too familiar with about it.  Before we left, he hug everyone he could find in the room and gave Lisa, Timmy and Amy (one of the hostesses) and kiss.  What a friendly little dude.  I was happy to see that he is friendly because he has NOT been too nice to Mommy and Daddy the last few days.  We are hoping this is just a phase.  Please......just a phase!

The zoo with a new friend and then.......Supercross!!!!

It was a REALLY nice day compared to the last several weeks because it was finally warming up and the sun was out.  So....it was a great day to go to the zoo with a new friend....Ethan and his mom, Lisa.  We met both of them at the New Year's Eve party at Ella's house.  Collin and Ethan hung out a lot that night so we thought it would be fun for both of them to get together for a morning at the zoo.  They boys instantly hit it off.  As soon as we got through the gate to the zoo, the boys took off running....but at least together.  Collin hollered out to Ethan to look at the birds which they both did.  Then, we checked out the seals.  I did not think we would ever leave the seals....but then I had the same thought with the elephants.  Collin brought his plastic elephant he got from Santa with us this morning so he HAD to see the elephants.  There was a baby one and Collin really liked seeing him. 

We then went through the new African Safari area.  I was excited about seeing it but was not impressed at all while going through it....neither were the boys because they did not stop long at each exhibit.  We ended up at the side of the Children's zoo at the carousel.  That was not a dumb plan on the zoo designer's part to put it there because both boys instantly saw the carousel and wanted to ride on it.  Collin choose a gorilla after thinking about getting on the giraffe.  Doesn't he look like he is having a good time?

After the ride, we stopped to have ANOTHER snack.  They both had one 45 minutes before that.  I guess running around and looking at the animals makes you really hungry and thirsty.  We then looked at a few of the monkeys and then ended back up at the seals again.  Collin has not been that interested in them before but sure was today.  Here is Collin on the seal statue by the exhibit.  Today was the first time that he had to climb on all of the statues that he saw....and he saw several.

After the zoo, we had lunch which took WAY too long.  This was one of the times that he wanted to go to the bathroom five times within 45 minutes.  He only had to go pee one of the times.  The other times, he did not even make it into the stall.  He does not like to poop in the public restrooms and that was what was going on.  We did finally leave the restaurant even though he was not finished eating because Daddy was waiting on us.  Collin only made it 10 minutes until he passed out cleaning his elephant with a wipee.  

Daddy took Collin home while I ran some errands (got Aunt Lisa some gifts for her baby shower tomorrow) so they could both rest up for tonight.  We were going to watch Supercross.  Collin LOVED it so much that he did not want to leave.  He watched every race and was even able to find the leader.  He commented on a few of the crashes and was impatient between the races.  Every time I looked over at him, he was focus on the race.  He did NOT want to leave when it was time to go.  I was shocked when he did not fall asleep on the way home.  It did not take him long to fall asleep once he was in bed though.  Whew!  I was way too tired to deal with a crying, stubborn 3 year old tonight.

Neat Freak?

I have noticed that Collin is neat.....at lot like his Mommy.  Maybe that's where he got it from?  Some examples are:

• He plays neat.  He typically does not make a mess when playing with his toys in the playroom.  He might get several toys out to play with but he does usually put most of them back when he is finished or at least when we ask him too. 
• He is still doing a great job at putting his plate and cup in the sink when he is finished eating. 
• He likes to put his clothes in the dirty clothes hamper before taking a bath.
• He is not as interested in washing the clothes everyday (oh thank you!!!!) but he does still like to help when it's time.
• He puts his trash in the garbage can.
• After reading books, he puts several back on his bookshelf.  He does not always put all of them away but he does attempt to put most of them away.

All of these are great lessons for little boys to learn.  He is learning to take care of himself.  The other night, I did not expect to see him also be neat after going potty.  He went in the bathroom by himself.  I heard him peeing then he flushed the toilet.  He was taking awhile to get out of the restroom, so I peeked in to see what he was doing.  He had taken a piece of toilet paper and was wiping the entire lid. he threw this piece in the toilet, flushed it and then left.  Wow!  This must be something he learned from school or one of his friends.  He did it again tonight before putting his PJs on (which he now calls jammies).  I wonder how long this neatness will last?

Games and Dinner

Typically, when Collin gets home from school during the week, we have dinner at the table as a family and then he and Daddy watch a movie on TV.  Sometimes while watching the movie, Collin and I will put a puzzle together or play on the floor in front of the TV.  Last night, I was not interested in having the TV on (it was easy to do because Daddy was out of town) so I pulled out a few games for us to play while having dinner.  Mimi was over so she joined us.  The first game we attempted to play was the Toy Story version of Chutes and Ladders.  We had been playing for about 8 minutes when Collin announced, "I don't want to play this anymore.  It's too slow".  I guess he was bored.....so we moved onto Candy Land.  He at least knew the colors and was more interested in moving the pieces around the board whether it was his turn or not.  This game must have been a little better because we lasted about 15 minutes before he got up and selected Hi Ho Cherry-O from the game cabinet.  We never played this game because he would not even let Mimi help set it up by putting the cherries in the holes on the game board.  He was more interested in using the cherry buckets as cups for drinks and passed them to each of us as if he was our waiter. 

So, game night was not a success if the goal was to complete a game.  It was a success because we all spent some quality time together before it was time for bath.

Candy Land and some apples for a snack

"Just 5 More Minutes"

This is a common phrase for Collin these days.  He uses it when he wants to continue to watch a show on TV, when requesting to stay in the tub a little longer or when he wants me to stay in his room after reading him books at bedtime for just a few examples.  He even negotiates the 5 minutes.  I will say, "How about 2 minutes and then we can..... (fill in the blanks)".  He replies with "I need 5 more minutes" while holding up 5 fingers.

I asked him if he knew how long 5 minutes was.  Of course, he does not have a clue.  I will wait the 5 requested minutes and then tell him that 5 minutes is up. He does not care because he replies "5 more minutes Mommy".  I explain that 5 minutes will be 5 songs playing on the CD (he still likes to have music playing while he is trying to fall asleep).  I will count the songs as the play explaining how long 5 minutes really is.  He is not interested in this and only interested in me staying longer in his room with him.  Smart kid.....

Super Bowl Fun

Last night, we invited a few friends over to the house to watch the Super Bowl.  Everyone that came had at least one child Collin's age.  He had a great time playing with his new friends and did REALLY well sharing all of his toys.  There were kids in the playroom, kids in the kitchen grabbing any food they could reach to eat or outside in the backyard....mainly throwing anything they could find in the pool (thanks Paul for pulling it all back out at least once). 

The adults also had a great time making new friends, watching the game....and also eating.  Thank goodness for the eating because we had lots of food.  Daddy, earlier in the day, told me that maybe 10 people would be coming over.  After he started to tell me who all he invited, I knew that 10 was really 20+.  I did not mind.  We love sharing our home with others and having people feel welcome to come over anytime. 

Everyone left around 9:30pm and the house was clean and put back together by 10pm.  Collin feel asleep quicker than usual which meant he still took at least 20 minutes to fall asleep after getting into bed.  I am sure he dreamt of the fun he had this weekend.

The playroom with most of the toddlers.....and Daddy

Here are the "10" people that came over.  Aunt Lisa, Timmy and Kara are missing from the picture and Ricky had already left. 

Forts are Great!

Do you remember building forts when you were little?  The forts could either be the ones inside the house with sheets, chairs and all of the pillows off the couch or the kind outside in the backyard.  Collin got to experience his first outside fort Saturday with the neighborhood boys.  Their dad cut down several palm tree branches because they froze in the recent ice storm.  The older boys took these and headed across the street near the bird sanctuary.  They used these as the roof and flooring for their fort that they had already started a few weekends ago.  Collin and John Paul wanted to see what they were doing and headed in the same direction.  About 15 minutes later, I went to check on the little guys and this is what I saw:

All five of the boys were sitting under the leaves of their new and improved fort:  Patrick, Luke, Max (he's there behind Luke), John Paul and Collin.  They got bored about 10 minutes later and started to play on the driveway.

Another first for Collin was seeing what happens to a lizard's tail if it gets cut off.  No, he did not do it....Max did.  Collin and John Paul where looking at a lizard that Mr. Kevin found in a box in the garage.  Max calmly walked over and dropped a toy on the lizard.  This cut the lizard's tail off which started to wiggle around really quick.  Collin backs up a little, points at it and says "oooo...there's blood!"  He did not say this though as if he were scared but instead in the "oooo, that's really cool" tone.  The older boys were not as thrilled and took off to do something else.  The little guys stuck around until the poor lizard's tail stopped wiggling.  That's boys for ya!

No Snow, Snow Day

Today, Collin stayed home from school because it was closed for snow.  The snow did not happen though but there was LOTS of dangerous ice so we stayed home for the day.  He did really well for the first part of the morning coloring in the office while I worked (yep, my office was not closed but I was able to work from home today).  There were times that Collin wanted me to color with him or play with him.  Eventually, he did get frustrated and continued to ask me questions.  Daddy was home too and had the great idea of inviting John Paul from down the street to come over and play. 

The boys had so much fun.  They started in the playroom.  I sat in there a little to watch them and work.  At first, they did not play with each other but did interact by telling each other what they were doing or about to do.  Then, they did start to play.  I eventually left to work back in the office.  About 30 minutes later, I did notice that it was really quiet so I got up to check on the boys.  I noticed that they were not in the playroom anymore but in Collin's room.  I put my ear against the door and hear some quiet talking.  I was curious what they were doing so quietly, so I opened the door and this is what I saw:

John Paul was over for almost 2 hours.  Collin had so much fun..enough to wear him out for an afternoon nap....that he just woke up from.  The no snow,  snow day turned out to be a great day.

Eye Update

Collin went to the eye specialist for a check up this morning.  We received great news!!!  The optic nerve is still swollen but the doctor said this is fine.  There has been no change since we first took him to the doctor about this.  We do need to bring him back in two years (how do I remember that one?) for another check up but, for now, she says there should not be anything to worry about.  Whew!!!

Daddy took him to the doctor and said he did great.  There was a time that he had an eye patch on and he looked like a pirate.  Collin told me later that pirates go "arrrggghhhh".  It was too cute.  During part of the tests, he had to read off shapes.  There was a square, and he said "square".  For the circle, he said "oval".  The doctor smiled and said "my, how sophisticated!".  That's Montessori school for ya!

Gymnastics - Collin Loves It

Collin did really good in Gymnastics again this afternoon.  He is following directions well and focuses on what the teacher tells him to do.  When I got home, he wanted to show me what he learned.  Today, he did:

• cartwheels
• push ups
• tumbling - he is REALLY good at this
• hopping
• jumping on the trampoline
• sit ups - he calls them "ring the bell with your feet under the green mat".  Could you visualize that one?

Maybe we have found an activity that Collin is both interested in and really good at.  Way to go Daddy for signing him up for this and taking him.

Here are two videos of him tonight.  One of them is him jumping on the trampoline with his hands in the air while moving forward.  This is a really good test of his coordination.  The other one is of him jumping on each side of a line of tape.  he is suppose to move forward while doing this but did quite figure that one out yet.  Maybe next time.

Tae Kwon Do

The last two days after school, Collin has been observing a Tae Kwon Do class to see what his interest is.  The Sensei pulled Collin to the side and had him run through some drills.  Collin listened and followed the directions really well which included kicks and punches.  After class, the Sensei said that he did really well for his first day.  Collin was so excited to show me later when I got home what he learned. 

Tonight, Collin sat and watched for most of the class.  I did get to see him do a few punches and kicks towards the end but he was definitely not focused like he was last night.  He did even tell Daddy that he wanted to go to Tae Kwon Do later when they were on the way.